Gingrich still far ahead in S.C.; Romney largely unhelped by Haley

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich still smashes his GOP presidential rivals in South Carolina, while his closest but still distant rival Mitt Romney received only a 4-point lift after an endorsement from S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley.

A survey conducted Sunday evening by InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research found support for Gingrich dropped from 38 percent at the end of November to nearly 31 percent among likely South Carolina Republican primary voters. Romney rose slightly from 15 percent to 19 percent.

InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery said the race in South Carolina should have gotten closer, but it remains a state where he predicts Gingrich will pick up his first victory and be well positioned to win Florida’s GOP presidential primary.

“I thought South Carolina would have been a real problem for Gingrich,” said Towery.

“But in reality, what I see here is the fact that Romney got the endorsement from the governor but got virtually nothing from it.”

Towery said Haley should have kept a lower profile in the Republican primary process.

“She made such a big deal out of this by having everyone stay at the governor’s mansion, almost like an interview. It makes her look a little silly,” added Towery.

“If I’d been advising her, I’d say, ‘don’t do this. You’re building yourself up as if you’re a kingmaker.”

Haley’s own low approval rating in South Carolina also didn’t help, he said.

The Sunday evening survey targeted 736 registered voters who will be participating in South Carolina’s Jan. 21 Republican presidential primary. The group had 538 Republicans, 158 Independents and 40 Democrats. The poll had a 3 percent margin of error.

Towery said Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, needed more than the weak bump reflected in Sunday’s poll.

“If this thing was really going to work, he should have shot up 15 points,” he said. “You get your biggest bang from an endorsement at the very beginning.”

Sunday’s poll results are similar to those of an InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research survey from the end of November.

At that time, Gingrich stood at 38 percent, followed by Romney with 15, then-candidate Herman Cain with 13, while there others drew single-digit support.

Before dropping out amid allegations of marital infidelity and sexual harassment, Cain had led in South Carolina in October and mid-November, according to surveys for the Augusta Chronicle, while Romney garnered 16 percent in both months.

The polling company’s findings in Iowa, however, show that voters put Texas congressman Ron Paul in the No. 1 spot at 24 percent, followed by Romney. Gingrich placed fourth with 13 percent after Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Towery said Independents fueled Paul’s dominance in Iowa, and predicted that the state’s Republicans will mobilize to make sure Paul does not prevail in the Jan. 3 caucuses.

“If Iowa ends up selecting Ron Paul as the nominee, that will be the last year that Iowa is first in line,” said Towery, adding that he likes Paul and agrees with him on some issues.

“I believe the Republican National Committee will move the pecking order.”

RESULTS

Theses are the results of the Dec. 18 poll by InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research, which surveyed 736 registered voters who will be voting in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary:

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There is no doubt that Newt is the smartest man in the room just about anywhere he goes. Unfortunately, we still have a lot of time and a lot can happen. Romney is the "chosen one" by RINO's, the GOP establishment, and the MSM so a lot can happen between now and election time, and there are still 20% in SC who are undecided.
-Plenty of time for slinging mud on Newt (especially by the MSM).

Oh and Matt Tomey, Gov. Haley really didn't do anything out of the ordinary. A lot of Governors do exactly the same thing. It may be a little ballsy for someone who hasn't been in office very long, but she is pretty popular with a lot of people (despite what the MSM is telling us what the "polls" are saying) and she has some pull. Besides, wasn't it you who wrote a book stating women were going to rule politics?
I believe it was (I have a copy) ;-)
I don't always agree with the Governor but she still plays a big roll here in SC and I'm sure her endorsement will mean something to some people - especially women.

Newt's personal baggage is a ball and chain for many. My wife is probably a typical female with her attitude that Newt's experience with his dying wife was a huge no-no. Newt hasn't explained his side of the event and the media has capitalized on making it the worst view.

I even tried to explain that we don't know everything and it may be that his wife asked for a divorce on her death bed to free him. OK, that's a stretch, but the point is we are all speculating.

Beside I don't care whether the doctor doing my surgery has a stellar marriage or not and his credentials and record of success are the most meaningful. I don't care about the airline pilot's personal life, whether he is gay, a philanderer or whatever, as long as he is a great experienced pilot. Same for a POTUS. But my wife still doesn't like Newt.

Heck, we'll probably vote for Romney anyway and he will do a good job.

Rattled-head......Are you talking about the same Alan Grayson, left wing hero, who was soundly defeated after only 1 term, mostly BECAUSE of the outlandishly STUPID things he said while in office?
Is that who you turn to for intelligent comebacks??? LOL
-Doesn't say much for YOUR intelligence, does it.

Tell you what. I'll put my mind, and especially the intelligence of Newt's, up against Alan Grayson (or YOU, for that matter) any time.

heron- There is no doubt that Newt Gingrich isn't a favorite for Christian conservatives. But he has said that he is older, wiser, found love, and also found God. Now, are we as Christians going to forgive him for his past, or are we going to hold it against him?
-That is something all of us have to decide for ourselves.
It's a difficult decision for us because of our morals, values, and beliefs. If we were liberal democrats this would be a no-brainer / easy decision to make. Heck, they don't even care if their President is going behind his wife's back getting a hummer right there in the Oval Office while on duty, and then lies about it while under oath..........they STILL vote for the guy and brush off affairs as "personal" and "none of our business".
However, to set the record straight, the story about Newt serving his wife divorce papers while she was on her deathbed is just that.....a STORY that was cooked up by the Left.
Both Newt's ex-wife Jackie, and more recently their daughter, have come out and explained that it wasn't true.
Truth is, Newt and Jackie had already been separated and discussing divorce for months prior to Jackie going into the hospital - in fact it was Jackie, not Newt, that originally asked for the divorce. They had also already explained to their kids that they were getting a divorce before Jackie went in for surgery. When she was in the hospital (to have a benign tumor removed) Newt took their daughters there to visit her. While there, they discussed some details of the divorce. There were no "papers served on her deathbed"..........in fact, Jackie is still alive today - although you would never know it if you listened to the left-wing MSM.

I doubt that will get your wife to vote for Newt, but hopefully it will at least tell her not to listen to the Left-wing loons and our "news" media.
This story, which has been going on for decades, unfortunately shows us just how powerful the Left and their partners-in-crime (the MSM) are in this country.
-And it also tells us that we no longer have free and fair elections in this Nation..............waaaay too much false information provided by our "journalists" / media elites, so voters can no longer make informed decisions.

If you look closely at the list, that Noah Pinion guy it not too far behind Newt with 20.1%. If I were him, I'd be a little ticked that someone both put me at the end of the list by accident and spelled my name wrong.

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